Code of Conduct

We want a productive happy community that can welcome new ideas, improve every process every year, and foster collaboration between individuals with differing
needs, interests and skills.

We gain strength from diversity, and actively seek participation from those who
enhance it. This code of conduct exists to ensure that diverse groups
collaborate to mutual advantage and enjoyment. We will challenge prejudice that
could jeopardize the participation of any person in the community.

The Code of Conduct governs how we behave in public or in private whenever the
Linux community will be judged by our actions. We expect it to be honored by
everyone who represents the community officially or informally, claims
affiliation, or participates directly. It applies to activities online or
offline.

We invite anybody to participate. Our community is open.

We strive to

Educate

We strongly believe in education in all aspects of life. When in error technically, professionally or personally, we seek to teach people how to improve themselves rather than to quickly exclude them for their misunderstandings or mistakes.

Be respectful

We work together to resolve conflict. We assume good intentions and do our best to act in an empathetic fashion. We don't allow frustration to turn into a personal attack.

We respect personal space, dignity and all matters of our diverse makeup. We strive for all members to feel comfortable.

We cannot accept those who are consistently intolerant, disrespectful, or continually make others uncomfortable.

Take responsibility for our words and our actions

We can all make mistakes; when we do, we take responsibility for them. If someone has been harmed or offended, we listen carefully and respectfully, and work to right the wrong.

Value clarity and consensus

Disagreements, social and technical, are normal, but we do not allow them to persist and fester leaving others uncertain of the agreed direction.

We expect participants to resolve disagreements constructively. When they cannot, we escalate the matter to structures with designated leaders to arbitrate and provide clarity and direction.

Ask for help when unsure

Asking questions early avoids many problems later, so questions are encouraged, though they may be directed to the appropriate individual or forum. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful.

Accessibility is an important part of being inclusive. We favor accessibility, and where accessibility issues are identified, we strive to document and communicate them. When accessible alternatives to any tools or venues are brought to our attention, we investigate them to the best of our ability.

If you are being harassed, suspect that someone else is being harassed, or have learned of harassment at a past event, please contact an organizer or a member of the executive as soon as possible. We strive to build a positive community.

Professionalism

The community is a body comprised of professionals, academics and hobbyists. It is expected that the community behave professionally at official events and related functions (e.g, visiting a pub after a meeting).

Heckling of the speakers cannot be tolerated. Questions and comments to the speaker should only be asked when the speaker has opened the floor to the audience.

Plagiarism cannot be tolerated. When using other people's work in your presentations or materials, appropriate references and citing of sources is necessary.

Piracy cannot be tolerated. If you're unsure about the intellectual property rights of a work, please talk with members of the community. Copyright and intellectual property are areas of keen community interest.

Explicit sexual topics, sexual touching, or sexual imagery are not appropriate for any event or related function. It is always off topic, it is not inclusive or sensitive to all the different groups which may be present at events.

If a third party event will knowingly encourage or participate in any of the above activities, the community's name, GTALUG or TLUG should not be included and invitations should not be sent using the official public channels.

Violating the Code of Conduct

When handling potential issues of harassment or unprofessionalism, please remember our principles of education and being respectful: "We assume good intentions and do our best to act in an empathetic fashion." and "we seek to teach people how to improve themselves rather than to quickly exclude them for their misunderstandings or mistakes."

Participants violating these rules may be asked to leave the event by organizing members, or asked to no longer participate in any events by vote of the executive committee.

This is not a zero tolerance policy. Zero tolerance places the burden of immediate judgement on the people involved, and ignores the important values of education and mutual respect in the community.

We expect participants to follow these rules at all venues and related social events. The rules should not be seen as a burden, but as a point of pride of the community.

As always, if you witness criminal behaviour, go to the police.

Review

As part of the community, we ask for your comments, and participation in improving our code of conduct. We review the code of conduct and contributions annually.